Français | English

Sociétés civiles d'Asie du Sud-Est continentale

Entre pilotage d'État et initiatives citoyennes

Edited by Bernard Formoso

De l'Orient à l'Occident



Civil Societies of Mainland Southeast Asia
Between State-Leading and Citizens' Initiatives

How to rethink the concept of civil society outside the narrow prism of liberal and secular Western values? By closely combining the knowledge and methods of anthropology and of political sciences, the book deals with this epistemological issue through case studies of southeast Asian countries (Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia, and to a lesser extent Singapore and Indonesia), whose modes of political action remain inscribed with hierarchy and religious ideologies. The various forms of authoritarian states built on these cultural frameworks are now increasingly conflicting with democratic models adapted from the West, as a result of economic globalization and of the increasing use of new information technologies. By examining, through field surveys and updated documentation, the terms and issues of this confrontation in relation with history, the book offers an in-depth interpretation of the current political developments in the countries selected and questions their future. This collection will therefore appeal to wide public who are interested by non-western civil societies, or who seek to gain a better understanding of Southeast Asia, its cultures, and the socio-political challenges it is facing.